The e-cigarette initially launched in 2003 was developed by the SBT Co. Ltd. based in Beijing, China. Ruyan stepped in following the product’s launch to provide additional development of the technology and proceed to introduce electronic cigarettes to the European market in 2006. Promotions in Europe called e-cigarettes “Electro fags”. It was clear the public was ready for e-cigarettes.

The first electronic smokes were not envisioned as a replacement for tobacco product. The concept was to provide a nicotine delivery system that smokers could use to soothe their need for a “fix” when they were in situations or locales where smoking tobacco was unacceptable. Marketers trying to sell electronic cigarettes quickly began advertising te products as a way to quit the tobacco habit. This did not gain approval from the e-cig manufacturers and was quickly condemned by the World Health Organization. The safety of electronic cigarettes had not been thoroughly tested and the WHO claimed there was no proof as yet of any benefits to users.

Some smokers think of their e-cigs as a hobby but not a habit. Online forums for “vapers” (those who use electronic cigs) heatedly discuss the merits of one brand over another, the strength of various e-liquids and argue about which e-cig provide the highest volume of vapor to the smoker.

Initial products attempted rather unsuccessfully to mimic the appearance of tobacco cigarettes. As the e-cig has become a product in its own right those designs have been joined by colored and brightly decorated models and with e-cigarettes displaying logos. The electronic products that do resemble standard smokes are much more realistic in detail than those early products on the market.

A trade association was recently formed by electronic cigarette suppliers to promote the e-cig as a safer nicotine delivery system than tobacco. Popularity of the electronic products continues to grow rapidly. The association has a mission to spread accurate information about the products to the public.

A significant amount of opposition has been exerted by big tobacco and big pharma who have targeted electronic cigarettes as the enemy (i.e., the competition). The powerful lobbyists of these conglomerates have exerted pressure on the FDA to regulate or ban electronic smokes. The FDA appears to have folded under the pressure and has issued its own warnings about e-cigs. However, a recent court decision that reversed an import ban imposed by the FDA may counteract at least some of this government agency’s bias.

The large tobacco companies have partnered with big pharma to spread misinformation about their competing electronic products. In the guise of protecting public health, opponents of electronic smoking products innocently claim to be concerned for the public even as they sell the most dangerous consumer product legally available today.

The two piece disposable cartridge design is a recent innovation in the electronic cigarette market. After about 400 puffs, which is the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes, the smoker simply unscrews the spent mouthpiece and screws on a new cartridge pre-filled with nicotine solution. No cleaning is needed, no e-liquid is required and changing the cartridge is as easy as opening a cigarette pack.

Though the history of e-cigarettes may be short, the future is very bright for this product. The improvements in user experience and vapor volume combined with factual information is being provided to the buying public. Suppliers hope this will generate a demand for e-cigs that will only increase with time.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert on all aspects of e-cigarettes. Her articles about an interesing story of the FDA and e-cigs or about the best electronic cigarette are well-known.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) may occur when bronchitis and emphysema co-exist. Shortness of breath due to a narrowing of the airways is the primary symptom of COPD. This disease cannot be reversed and symptoms progress in severity over time. Those who suffer from asthma may display the same symptoms but the narrowed airways are reversible for those afflicted with asthma attacks.

Tobacco smoke is the primary cause of COPD. The diagnosis refers to the presence of two diseases present in the patient. Chronic bronchitis is caused by an inflammatory response in the larger airways of the body. Emphysema is damage to the tissues of the lungs caused by an inflammatory response that affecting alveoli of the lungs. The inflammation is triggered by noxious gases and particles inhaled by tobacco users.

Symptoms can worsen suddenly leading to acute episodes of COPD. Pollution in the air or an inflection can quickly lead to an acute episode. Lung function tests are used to diagnose COPD with testing to measure the volume of air and the speed of air flow of the patient.

A person with COPD requires oxygen therapy for the long term. You will often see people in public places who are wearing a bulky oxygen pack around their waist, carrying a small oxygen bottle in a backpack or even wheeling oxygen on a cart as they walk around.

COPD is not curable but relies on management to delay the advance of the disease and to help avoid acute attacks. Management strategies outlined by doctors include advice to stop smoking tobacco and to participate in rehabilitation and drug therapy. Inhalers are the most common drug therapy prescribed for patients.

Highly addicted tobacco smokers often ignore medical advice to stop smoking after receiving a diagnosis of COPD. They may believe they can’t quit but more often they feel it’s too late to quit as the damage to their lungs has been done. It is sad to see a person irrevocably linked to a tank of oxygen while inhaling yet more toxic tobacco smoke.

To increase flow to through the airways, rehabilitation for COPD patients includes sessions where they breathe steam. For those who continue to smoke two or three packs of tobacco a day the benefits of rehabilitation are short lived. These are people who are addicted to the total experience of smoking. Whether taking a puff, holding a cigarette in the hand or inhaling the smoke, this is someone who will not be placated by patches and gum. Their habit is too ingrained to be replaced by anything that does not provide the experience of smoking. Electronic cigarettes may prove to be a valuable tool for those with COPD.

Highly addicted smokers suffering from COPD find e-cigarettes to be a real alternative for them. The lack of toxic smoke allows them to gain greater benefit from rehabilitation and steam therapy. E-cigs allow the smoker to inhale a vapor that tastes and feels like cigarette smoke without inhaling the harmful chemicals of burning tobacco. The popularity of e-cigs for this sector of society has grown rapidly. Patients report an increase in their quality of life and some even claim the steam vapor produce by e-cigarettes is helpful as a steam therapy. Until scientific studies are conducted, proof of advantages of the vapor are only anecdotal. it may be that simply stopping the inhalation of the additives in tobacco smoke is responsible for the improvement in patients.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert on all facets of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about what is contained in e-cigs and the effects of propylene glycol and a review of the best electronic cigarette have become very popular.

A well used ashtray was a prominent feature on every office desk twenty or thirty years ago. Ten years ago there might be a non smoking sign displayed on the wall but the supervisor would quickly produce an ashtray from his desk drawer for any visitor asking to smoke and would close the office door and indulge in a smoke himself on occasion. Today a request to smoke in a place of business would expose you to a sharp “no” and critical looks from those around you.

In an attempt to satisfy employees, some companies maintain both non-smoking and smoking break rooms. More commonly you will notice a small group of smokers huddled near a business entrance for a quick nicotine fix. Removing tobacco means reducing the risk of fire and provides a cleaner area in which to work. A workplace without second hand smoke and foul odors is a better work environment.

Most smokers no longer complain when they are required to leave the building to smoke. They often find the need to defend themselves against non-smokers who complain even when workers are smoking out of doors. This has led businesses to establish outdoor smoking areas with seating and protection from the sun. These areas are often a feature of businesses with sufficient outdoor space to permit separating the smoking area from the business entrance.

Employees who frequently leave their desk to smoke are detrimental to the bottom line of their employer. Even a 10 minute absence requires the employee to lose more work time as he re-focuses on the work he was doing before the break. Phones aren’t answered and non-smoking co-workers often resent breaks taken by smokers. Offers to provide help for employees who want to quit smoking have been creatively used by businesses. Offers pf cash awards, free counseling and free nicotine replacement products to encourage smokers to quit were well received. CEO’s with less compassion simply instituted strict policies that prohibit smoking at work.

After spending tens of thousands of dollars on stop smoking programs, employers are left with a small group of smokers who have no interest in quitting. Allowing electronic cigarettes at the workplace could provide a solution for employers in years to come. Continuing to conduct stop smoking sessions is not a good use of resources if the remaining group of smoking employees shows no inclination to abandon their tobacco habit.

People nearby are not harmed by the vapor produced by e-cigarettes. This alternative smoking product fills the need for nicotine while avoiding the release of chemical compounds created by tobacco when it burns. Walls and ceilings in offices are not coated with tar from tobacco smoke and there is no disgusting odor of stale smoke. Unlike other nicotine replacement products, e-cigarettes are not invisible. If you use a patch, gum or a lozenge to replace cigarettes no one knows you are doing so.

The cigarette shaped e-cig is the most common design but the mouthpiece may also be purchased shaped like the plastic tip on a small cigar. Designs often replicate the tobacco cigarette closely. That alone can cause a negative reaction when adding electronic cigarettes to the office is proposed. Some anti-smokers are against use of anything that resembles the use of tobacco in any way.

As the popularity of the best electronic cigarettes grows and benefits are more widely understood and accepted, e-cigarettes in the workplace may become an accepted practice for both employers and employees. It may be commonplace in five years to see vapor trails in the offices of businesses everywhere.

Mary Kay Rivers is an acclaimed expert in the field of e-cigarettes. Her articles about what would happen if everyone stopped smoking traditional cigarettes or about the best e-cigarette have become very popular.

The word “electronic” may cause consumers to think of e-cigarettes as complex technical systems. That is far from the truth. You may be surprised when you learn how electronic cigarettes work.

This is a simple product to use and required no special training or higher education to understand. Technological development has two faces when it’s done well. The first is the technical aspects of creating a product that fills a need or solves a problem in a new and unusual way. The second face of development is creating technology that provides a friendly user experience.

E-cigarettes are a good example of a well designed product that provides a good user experience. E-cigs are a simple system combined with advanced design. When you use your e-cig you don’t have to be concerned about the circuitry or the heating element as they work without effort from you.

An atomizer and a battery are the main components of any e-cigarette. Both a short and a long battery section is included in most starter kits along with a battery charger. You will need to charge a battery for 2-3 hours before using your new e-cig. After the initial charge you can have one battery on the charger and the second in use.

Assembling the e-cigarette is as simple as can be. There are no little plastic bags filled with parts to be connected. All you need to do is screw the atomizer to the charged battery and you can be ready to smoke.

The atomizer is the mouthpiece and the terms are used interchangeably. A small cup inside holds absorbent material saturated with a flavored nicotine solution. Other models come with cartridges pre-filled with e-liquid and are disposed of and replaced as needed. A small heating element located in the atomizer is activated by the battery producing a vapor mist for the smoker to inhale.

The batteries are most often rechargeable lithium ion and battery life is determined by size and type of the battery, frequency of use of the e-cig and the quality of the product. An LED light at the tip of the battery is a feature that has been a part of e-cigs since their early development. Meant to represent the fire of a lit cigarette the light is often red or orange. On newer models, users may often choose any color of LED they prefer.

The best electronic cigarettes are automatic and produce vapor when the user draws (puffs) on the mouthpiece. The movement of air through the e-cig activates the heating coil powered by the battery and the result is vapor released by the heating of the nicotine laced e-liquid. As you can see, the electronic cigarette operates on the same principle as a tobacco smoke. With tobacco products, drawing air through the cigarette increases the heat of the fire at the tip and creates smoke. The difference lies in the health benefit of inhaling a vapor mist that quickly dissipates while avoiding the chemical compounds of toxic tobacco smoke.

Mary Kay Rivers is an acclaimed expert in the field of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about the safety of electronic cigarettes or about the best e-cigarette have become well-known.

The electronic cigarette is a popular new gadget for smokers. Introduced in 2003, this is the alternative smoking solution many tobacco addicts have been waiting for. Whether you smoke cigarettes, a pipe or cigars there is an e-cigarette style that will suit you.

Tobacco cigarette costs have risen drastically due to increases in tobacco taxes on the federal level and in many states. Compare the five to ten dollar cost of a pack of regular cigarettes to the two dollar cost of an equivalent number of puffs of electronic versions and you’ll quickly see why the popularity of this e-cigarette gadget is rising quickly. The nicotine delivery system in e-cigarettes gives smokers the “fix” they want but avoids the necessity of inhaling over 4000 chemical compounds of burning tobacco.

Technological advances made the introduction of the e-cigarette possible. With an atomizer and a battery component that are screwed together, the electronic versions may look like a real cigarette or a ball point pen. Manufacturers also have models that look like cigars or pipes.

The mouthpiece is an atomizer with one end shaped either like a cigarette or the plastic mouthpiece of a small cigar. Inside is a small plastic cup filled with absorbent material. This is where the e-liquid is added for refillable models of e-cigarettes. Nicotine and flavor are in the e-liquid solution and are most often in a base of propylene glycol. There are many flavors available on the market but e-solutions that taste like regular or menthol tobacco continue to be the most popular.

When the flavor fades or a burned taste is present you refill the atomizer with a few drops of e-juice dripped from a small bottle. The contents of one bottle of e-liquid are approximately the same as five cartons of tobacco cigarettes..

A battery is the second component of the e-cigarette gadget. This is the bottom section of an electronic cigarette. Early products routinely added a red or orange LED light at the tip of the battery section to give the impression of a burning cigarette. Now manufacturers provide a variety of color options and you can choose your favorite color for the LED “fire”.

Starter kits for this gadget for smokers include a battery charger and usually are sold with two battery sections. That allows the smoker to use one battery while the other is being charged. Manual designs are not the most popular as they require the smoker to press a small button to activate the heating element to provide vapor. The best electronic gadgets are automatic and operate when the smoker draws air through the mouthpiece.

The puff (draw) on the atomizer activates a minuscule heating element that vaporizes liquid in the mouthpiece. The vapor is inhaled and nicotine ingested with the vapor. In the best e-cigarettes the process is instantaneous allowing the user to inhale and smoke as if he were using tobacco.

The replaceable cartridge electronic cigarette is very popular with buyers. The disposable mouthpiece ends the need for messy e-liquids and cleaning is never needed. One cartridge is the equivalent of one pack of tobacco cigarettes. Changing cartridges is no more complicated than opening a pack of cigarettes.

Mary Kay Rivers has become a true expert on all aspects of electronic cigarettes. Her articles such as a Green Smoke review or about the freedom to smoke anywhere you want with electronic cigarettes have become well-known.

Debate on the safety of electronic cigarettes has been raging since the product’s introduction in 2003. Many of the arguments are incorrect information disseminated by the FDA with the help of big tobacco and big pharma.

In response to the heated debate, electronic cigarette suppliers recently formed a trade association to provide factual information about e-cigs to the buying public. Tobacco companies want to eliminate competition from electronic cigarettes and have followed an agenda of issuing warnings about e-cig dangers that have no basis in fact. The FDA conducted a very limited test of a few hand chosen e-cigarettes and then pronounced the products were not safe because trace amounts of a dangerous chemical were found in some of the products tested.

The FDA did not conduct followup testing or test to see if the same chemical was present in tobacco product. Although the statements made by the FDA were not factually incorrect they were also not scientifically proven but were conclusions based on a flawed example.

Consumers who wonder if electronic cigarettes are safe should consider that e-cigs contain 20 ingredients while tobacco cigarettes have 599 ingredients. When smoking tobacco you inhale more than 4000 chemical compounds. Claims are made that the additives in tobacco have been proven safe as food additives by the FDA. That is true as far as it goes. Those additives have not been tested for safety when burned and inhaled. Burning changes the chemical elements of some ingredients.

Poor nicotine is guilty by association with tobacco. Tobacco smoke is thought to lower the immune system in some smokers leaving them open to more colds and infections. We know for a fact that smoking tobacco causes cancers of the mouth, throat and lungs and increases risk of heart disease in smokers. These health problems are directly attributed to the tars and noxious gases of burning cigarettes inhaled by the smoker.

The properties of nicotine itself to not promote cancer in healthy tissue and nicotine has no mutagenic properties when separated from tobacco. There is no evidence that long term use of nicotine is detrimental to health. Nicotine is the reason we become addicted to tobacco. It is the fix we want when we light a cigarette yet it is not nicotine that damages our health.

Consumers have been using nicotine replacement gums, lozenges and patches for many year now with no apparent ill effects. Initially, nicotine patches were only available by prescription but as time passed it was clear the product posed no danger to the health of the public. Today you can buy all of those stop smoking aids freely at your local drug store.

The Royal College of Physicians states they do not suspect any adverse health effects to result from long term nicotine use. The best electronic cigarettes provide nicotine in a measured delivery that insures the safety of the e-smoker. Understanding that nicotine is the catalyst for smokers leads to understanding the need to provide nicotine in a way that avoids the risks taken when smoking tobacco.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an expert in the field of electronic cigarettes. Her articles “How do Electronic Cigarettes Work?” or about the best e-cigarette have become very famous.

You will save money with cheap electronic cigarettes even if you purchase the best quality e-cig available. The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes rose from 38 cents to $1.01 last year and tobacco taxes have also been raised by several states in an attempt to balance challenged budgets.

Major tobacco companies took advantage of the timing to increase prices on their products at the same time the new taxes were taking effect. Most consumers didn’t notice the price increases while the media focused only on the tax burden. Smokers of premium tobacco cigarettes had been paying $5 per pack but now pay $7-10 for the same product. For those accustomed to the low cost brands the price went from $2.50 to $5 per pack.

Electronic cigarettes are cheap compared with the current high costs of tobacco. The e-cig system delivers an inhalable vapor to the smoker. The quality of electronic cigarettes is judged by the reliability and performance of the delivery system that creates the vapor. The “draw” is similar to that of the tobacco version and the term “throat hit” is often used by consumers to recommend their favorite brand. Smokers want a good volume of vapor from an e-cig when they inhale as that is what provides the physical sensation of smoking.

Buy the best electronic cigarette available and you will save money when compared to the cost of tobacco products today. A starter kit provides disposable cartridges or liquid for refilling the e-cig as well as a battery charger and the basic reusable components of the product.

A built in atomizer is the disposable cartridge which contains a water and nicotine solution. Maintenance is nonexistent with the disposable cartridge models and no cleaning is required. Both a short and long cigarette battery is the second part of the e-cig. This battery has an LED light at the tip. The cartridge is available in several strengths of nicotine which allows the user to choose regular or light as he prefers. A home battery charger, extra cartridges and instructions for use are also included in the starter kits.

The cartridge or mouthpiece screws onto the second piece of the e-cig that holds the battery and heating element. One cartridge is approximately equal to 400 puffs of a tobacco product. A weakened flavor or burned taste to the vapor indicates the need to add a new cartridge with one cartridge estimated to equal one full pack of tobacco cigarettes.

Refillable cartridges are also popular as the small vial of e-liquid is equivalent to five cartons of tobacco cigarettes. The liquid is dripped into the cartridge as needed and is widely available in many flavors and nicotine levels. Quality control for some e-liquid manufacturers is not optimal and it’s recommended this e-juice be purchased from a reputable manufacturer. Poor quality resulting in uneven nicotine levels is most often found in e-liquids imported from China.

The replaceable cartridge are the best choice for most people as they most closely mimic the habit of smoking tobacco. When the vapor becomes weak screwing on a new cartridge is no more difficult than opening a pack of cigarettes. Smokers now have an alternative with cheap electronic cigarettes.

Mary Kay Rivers is a true expert on all aspects of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about electric cigarettes or on choosing the best e-cigarette are very famous.

Accusations that the FDA was being influenced by big tobacco began to circulate with the first FDA statement questioning the safety of electronic cigarettes. The statement was based on an extremely small non-scientific test and claims made were that various problems “might” be encountered by users of e-cigarettes.

For forty years the public has been informed about the dangers of smoking tobacco. That is when the first warnings were placed on cigarette packs yet our current pack warnings are among the weakest in the world. Only last year was the FDA sufficiently concerned about tobacco to move to regulate the products. In a magnanimous statement, big tobacco said they welcomed regulation and oversight by the FDA. Of course they did. It was a smart move by a company that could influence the regulations and make it more difficult for competing products to reach the public.

With hints indicating a wish to ban electronic cigarettes, the FDA issued statements about safety concerns. Last year, the FDA claimed it had concerns that young people would be lured into nicotine addiction by the e-liquid used in e-cigs. The FDA then issued a ban on importation of electronic cigarettes aimed at China which is the main source of imports of the products.

In a decision handed down by a Federal Judge on January 15, 2010, the FDA was ordered to lift the import ban that affected electronic cigarettes. The FDA was criticized for aggressive efforts focused on turning a recreational product into one designated as a device or drug that could then be regulated out of existence.

Referring to the new tobacco division created within the FDA to regulate tobacco companies, the court opined the same regulations could be applied to electronic cigarettes. Regulation of marketing claims and contents of products should be applied to both versions of smoking products according to the court ruling.

Responding to the court decision brought a charge from the FDA about “health issues” surrounding e-cigarettes. It appears the youth argument didn’t sway the court so a new “reason” was presented. Tobacco companies stand firmly behind the FDA efforts to eliminate electronic cigarettes. What could be better than to have a government agency strike down your competition?

One great outcome for tobacco companies would be allowing the FDA to set separate standards and restrictions for e-cigarettes. This would significantly increase the cost of buying e-cigs and refill supplies. Currently, tobacco products can’t compete in price with alternative electronic products.

The ban and resultant court action pointed to a need to examine the relationship existing between the FDA, big tobacco and big pharma. With billions of dollars added to the bottom lines of state and federal governments through taxes on tobacco, it is important that the FDA fulfill its mission of protecting public health. It is interesting to conjecture what the FDA position would have been had tobacco companies introduced and marketed electronic cigarettes in the first place.

The unusual steps taken by the FDA have created their own controversy about the focus of this government agency. The FDA has never proposed banning tobacco products to protect the health of the public. Traditionally, the FDA issues statements and warnings and takes action only after conducting full scientific testing. In the case of the FDA vs electronic cigarette manufacturers, the FDA has ignored testing to develop standards and instead has focused on finding reasons to ban a product that is arguably safer than the product it may eventually replace.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert on all facets of e-cigarettes. Her articles the history of e-cigarettes or a review of the best e-cigarette are very famous.

The reason e-cigs were developed is necessary to understanding what electronic cigarettes are. For decades smokers could indulge their habit in any setting without interference. The tolerance for cigarette smoking has undergone a drastic change in recent years.

Increasingly, tobacco users find themselves ostracized in public areas and relegated to feeding their habit outside public buildings and only in certain designated smoke filled rooms in airports. The condemnation of tobacco has spread to bars, restaurants, theaters and everywhere else people gather as the dangers of second hand smoke have become public knowledge.

The e-cigarette was introduced to the marketplace in 2003 as an alternative for smokers. This personal vaporizer delivers flavor and fulfills the need to nicotine yet does not cause a negative affect on those around you. Shaped like a tobacco cigarette or a ball point pen initially, models are now available to also resemble cigars and even pipes.

E-cigs are reusable although some come with disposable components. The best selling products are the automatic style where vapor is delivered on demand when the user applies draws on the mouthpiece.

The flow of air is detected by a sensor that will activate a heating element and that heat vaporizes a solution containing nicotine. The solution may be added with an e-fluid or may be a cartridge located in the mouthpiece. A LED light at the end of the electronic cigarette lights when vapor is produced. Original models of the product routinely used an orange or red LED to resemble the fire of a lit cigarette. Today the user can choose from a variety of LED colors.

On manual models, the user must press a button to activate the heating element and produce a vapor. The same components of electronic circuits and rechargeable batteries are present in both delivery systems, manual and automatic.

A small cup inside the mouthpiece is filled with absorbable material saturated with a liquid solution containing nicotine and flavoring. The mouthpiece is often referred to as the “cartridge” with a tip that may be round or shaped like a plastic cigar tip. Liquid in the cartridge is vaporized by the heating element for the user to inhale.

E-cigs are considered a delivery system for nicotine. The solution referred to as e-liquid can be purchased in many flavors and in various strength levels of nicotine. The user chooses the nicotine level he prefers just as he might choose regular, light or ultra-light tobacco cigarettes.If you have wondered “what are electronic cigarettes” you’ll find the e-cigs an effective method of providing nicotine through a process that does not endanger those around you or release odors into your home.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an expert in the field of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about how much money can be saved with e-cigarettes or about the best e-cigarette have become very famous.

There is little reality in the efforts of big tobacco and big pharma to portray the use of propylene glycol as a danger ingredient in electronic cigarettes. In 1942, studies at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital seemed to show inhalation of vaporized propylene glycol might cause pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in mice. Later studies to follow up were conducted on monkeys and other animals in an attempt to understand long term effects. The results of the extended testing showed no ill effects or potential for accumulation of propylene glycol in the lungs.

In a newly discovered zeal to protect the health of hte public, tobacco companies and the FDA shout “danger” when discussing propylene glycol. It’s an interesting strategy as PG has been proven safe and accepted by the FDA for years. The warnings ignore the elephant in the room. E-cigarettes are safer than tobacco. Almost anything you inhale is safer than smoking tobacco.

In e-cigarettes propylene glycol is used to dilute the nicotine and provide a solution that can be vaporized and deliver nicotine to the e-smoker. PG is a commonly used food additive and is the substance used in fog machines. It also appears on the label of ingredients of many of the food products we routinely buy.

Warnings about propylene glycol are not coming from the scientific community, doctors, researchers, scientific journals or nutritionists. Searching online you’ll notice the warnings about PG appear on the blogs of anti-smoking groups, sites of conspiracy theorists and natural healing sites. On several blogs the dire warning of “you are breathing antifreeze” may point out those who flunked organic chemistry. The ethylene glycol in antifreeze is not the same thing.

There is a vast array of information available on the internet. It’s important to remember that not all information is factual or backed by experience, research or knowledge. Baby wipes contain propylene glycol and it’s odd the FDA would allow a dangerous substance to be used in products for infants, isn’t it? Very little PG is ingested in the vapor inhaled by an e-smoker. There are some producers who sell e-liquid with a base of glycerol but PG is the most common ingredient in e-cig solutions.

Consumers are more conscious of food additives and harmful ingredients in the foods they eat than every before. Looking at the ingredients on products you buy is a smart thing to do. We know to look carefully at labels when buying products low in sugar. Ingredients such as sucrose and fructose and various types of “syrup” may be listed and each of those ingredients is sugar.

Thirty years ago the FDA announced a ban on saccharin and any products containing saccharin. The public was in a panic and threw out their boxes of sweet and low while manufacturers hustled to change the recipes of their food products. Only later was the public told the truth.

What the FDA didn’t tell the public was that the research did not apply to people. The mice had been given huge doses of saccharin daily. Adjusting the amount to that needed for a person to develop cancer would require the person to consume at least 400 cans of diet cola every day for months. Today, saccharin is once again fully available for sale to the public.

PG is necessary as an ingredient in e-cigarettes to deliver the vapor smokers want. There is no scientific proof that e-cigarettes containing propylene glycol pose a danger to the smoker. That is the truth no matter how much effort big tobacco puts into discrediting a competing product.

Mary Kay Rivers is a true expert on all facets of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about COPD and e-cigarettes or about the best e-cigarette have become well-known.